Weakling
by Pennington Inkwell
Summary: A crippled riolu is brought to the Aether Foundation, where it's forced to stay until it recovers. Miserable at first, it finds unlikely friendship in a young Gladion. ((TW: Attempted Suicide))


It hurt. Searing, burning, stabbing pain everywhere all at once, more pain than Riolu had ever thought was possible. It couldn't think, couldn't focus on anything except putting one foot in front of the other in the hopes of finding help.

 _Wow, you don't know when to give up, do you? Just stay in the stupid ball!_

The human's voice came back to taunt them, a jeering insult filled with hatred every bit as foul as his aura. There was no way that Riolu's pride could have let them be partnered with such a poisonous soul.

 _Fine, I don't need another fighting-type, anyway!_

Riolu stumbled, only barely staying on its feet as the world suddenly lurched to the side. They placed their paw over their shoulder, gripping it tightly. All at once, the pain intensified, shooting through them anew. As it did, the world slipped back into its proper place, letting the tired pokemon regain its balance for a few more precious seconds.

But the edges of its vision were growing blurry and dark. Letting go of the pressure on their shoulder, they glanced back down at their paw. Even without focusing, it was easy to see the light of the aura fading from their body.

"Ri.. ri.. ou-ri..." it whispered, an unheard cry for help.

 _Use High Jump Kick! Knock that thing out so we can move on!_

"Ri... rio... lu!" Riolu grunted as its knee gave way, forcing it to the ground. Again, the world began to spin, though it wasn't until their head collided with the ground that Riolu realized that they were the one moving.

They were falling.

Riolu barely felt their body hit the ground, their senses all dulled to uselessness. Even as its vision faded to black, however, Riolu's eyes remained wide open, searching diligently for the hope it knew wouldn't come.

If it was going to die, Riolu wanted to die knowing that they fought it to the very end. It was only fitting for their kind. Never to give up, never to give in.

* * *

"How awful!" Jeanette fumed, stamping her foot against the ground in anger as she spotted yet another unconscious pokemon laying on the ground. "Some trainers just have no consideration for the pokemon they battle!"

Kneeling down, she could see that it was yet another riolu beaten to exhaustion. There were singe marks in its fur and large bruises over most of its body, but nothing too serious. As much as she wanted to pick it up and take it with them, she forced the urge down. The Aether Foundation was a home for hurt pokemon, yes, but trying to treat every bruised or knocked-out pokemon in Alola was something even their great resources could handle.

"Yeah, yeah, you got that right..." Ren muttered, looking over her shoulder. "But I suppose another 'shiny hunter' coming through would explain why all of our tagged Comfey and Chansey were coming this way. They could tell that there were pokemon here that needed their... help..."

Jeanette felt her partner tap her shoulder, forcing her to look up from the hurt pokemon. As she did, he pointed ahead and into the tall grass ahead. She blinked, unsure what she was supposed to be seeing. After a moment, though, her breath caught in her throat as she caught sight of a streak of red among the green blades.

"Blood."

"Come on! Don't just stand there staring at it!" Jeanette scrambled back to her feet, taking off at a full sprint into the grass. She whispered a silent prayer to Arceus that they weren't too late for whatever poor soul had left the trail. Out of instinct, she reached down to her belt.

"Audino, please! We need you!" she cried, throwing the pokeball ahead of them. In a flash of light, her reliable old partner appearing in the middle of the field.

"Audi-no!" the small, pink pokemon cheered, shaking its head to relieve the last of the effects of the pokeball. It glanced around for a moment, then stumbled back in shock at something on the ground beside it.

"No! No-audino-no!" The pokemon's voice was trembling, but she was waving for them to come to her. The healer's fear only added to Jeanette's fear. The two of them had been through thick and thin together, already seen what she thought was the worst she ever would. If Audino was afraid, then whatever it was had to be awful.

"Over there! She found it!"

"Already?" Ren asked, skeptical at the swiftness of the search.

"No! NO! NO!" Audino was panicking now, dropping to her knees to tend to whatever was hidden in the grass. They could hear the telltale sound of it using its Heal Pulse attack to try and stabilize whatever it was tending to.

"Seriously, Ren? Why do you always doubt my-" Jeanette's words dropped off as she reached the scene, her heart nearly stopping and her chest growing tight.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time she- oh sweet Arceus..." Ren whispered as he ran up alongside her. Without a word, he reached down and retrieved a Quick Ball from his belt. The different coloration of the ball was to indicate the fact that it was only to be used in emergencies, and this definitely qualified.

"Alakazam! You're needed!" Ren shouted as the pokemon appeared before them. The psychic-type wasted no time acknowledging the trainers, immediately turning its attention to the pokemon on the ground. After a brief moment of analysis, it looked back up at Ren and nodded, affirming that they had its approval.

"Think you can get us back to HQ?" Ren asked. Even Jeanette wondered if Alakazam's power would be enough. The specially trained pokemon had been trained and honed its teleportation abilities since it was a tiny little Abra, but they were all the way on Poni Island at the moment. If it failed, all of them, including the pokemon they were trying to save, could wind up in the middle of the ocean.

Alakazam pondered the question for a moment, then nodded, filling them both with hope. Jeanette reached down and gently scooped up the riolu in her arms, ignoring the blood smearing over her white uniform. She felt so awful for the little one that it made her chest hurt.

"Do it."

* * *

When they arrived back at Aether, there was already a stretcher waiting, accompanied by two nurses and a pair of Comfey. All of them looked as though they'd been in a hurry to make it to the lobby in a hurry, disheveled and out of sorts but still ready to help. When a Quick Ball was opened, it set off an alarm at the Foundation that alerted the staff of the incoming patient. The emergency staff were always ready, day or night.

Jeanette had always considered herself lucky not to suffer from the same teleportation sickness other trainers tended to get. Thanks to that, she was able to immediately run forward and lay the riolu on the stretcher. The nurses didn't waste time being shocked, wheeling it away in a matter of seconds as both of the Comfey set themselves to work stabilizing it, one using its Aromatherapy move while the other carefully tended to the major injury with its Floral Healing.

Her work done, Jeanette watched them disappear through the doors and into Intensive Care, then joined Ren in sitting in a chair against the wall. Alakazam had already returned to its Quick Ball, and Audino had taken a seat against the wall, as well. They'd been teleported straight into the Emergency Room, and were going to have to wait to give their report on what had happened.

 _I just hope Faba's not the one who's going to be debriefing us. It wouldn't matter if all of Alola was at risk, that old creep would STILL be mad at us for using his precious Alakazam..._

Now that the situation was out of their hands, the adrenaline of the moment was beginning to wear off, and she turned a weary head to her pokemon partner. Audino had blood on its tiny hands, which it had absentmindedly wiped on its chest. It was almost funny the way that both of them matched, both smeared with someone else's blood.

 _I guess it's true what they say, "Like Trainer, like 'mon..."_

"So sorry to keep you waiting! I'm afraid that I was- Oh my goodness!" A woman's voice cried out as she entered the room. Jeanette breathed a sigh of relief as the Assistant Branch Chief entered, dropping her clipboard out of shock. Wicke was considered by many to be one of the kindest souls in the Aether Foundation, never seen without her hands full or with at least one ear dedicated to hearing out those around her.

"Oh my goodness, are you alright? Jeanette? Audino?"

"Au-audi..." Audino nodded quietly, waving off her concern.

"We're fine, but... the pokemon we brought with us isn't..." Jeanette felt a new pang of guilt as the image flashed through her mind of the pokemon's gruesome injury.

 _If I hadn't spent so much time fussing over cuts and bruises, we might have found it sooner! We could have gotten there before it lost so much blood! Because we were so slow, it might... might..._

"What happened? Tell me everything." While Jeanette had been lost in thought, Wicke had walked closer and knelt down, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"We found a riolu on the brink of death." Ren stated. Outwardly, he didn't seem nearly as shaken as Jeanette felt. "Jeanette and Audino found it, really. Judging from the singe marks and the talon scratches on the others in the area, I'd say it was most likely the work of either a Talonflame or a Blaziken. Their fire and fighting typings would give them a major advantage. This riolu, however..." He trailed off for a moment, his voice beginning to shake with emotion. Wicke nodded, using her other hand to give his knee a gentle pat.

"The crisis has passed, Ren. Take your time."

Rather than breaking down, however, Ren jumped out of his chair and reeled back, slamming his fist into the wall in an uncharacteristic fit of rage.

"ITS ARM WAS TORN CLEAN OFF, WICKE!" He tore himself away from the wall, throwing himself into frantic pacing around the room. "I mean, what was this trainer thinking, just LEAVING it like that? And literally tearing apart a steel-type pokemon? That was more than just type advantage, that was a massive power difference! Why do trainers do stuff like this? It was obvious that someone was tearing their way through the local population just for kicks with nothing to gain from it! It..." he trailed off, finally throwing himself back into his seat as tears streamed down his face. "It... never had a chance..."

Wicke was taken aback for a moment, then rose back to her feet, her expression tense. Jeanette couldn't tell if it was rage or worry on her face.

"We'll have to send a team to search for any more that might have similar injuries and make certain that there aren't any opportunistic predators that could wipe out the whole population at once." She muttered, raising her wrist communicator to her lips.

"Faba?"

 _"Branch Manager Faba!"_

Wicke sighed, rolling her eyes behind her massive glasses.

"Branch Manager Faba, we need to prepare a team for departure to Poni Island at once. It looks as though a trainer went through and battled most of the riolu population there into unconsciousness. We're going to have to do damage control and look for other severe cases."

There was a short pause, and Jeanette wondered if the grouchy old man was going to deny them.

 _"Understood, I'll put together a recon squad at once."_

"Thank you, sir."

 _"Oh! And I received the notification that a Quick Ball was opened! I'll be wanting a full report on my specially trained Alakazam's performance!"_

"I'll make certain you get it. Over and out." Wicke sighed as her hand returned to her side. After a second of rubbing her temples, she reached down and gave Jeanette's shoulder a squeeze.

"You all did great work today, I want you to know that. This was supposed to be a routine investigation into the behavior of our tagged pokemon, and you two encountered an emergency you were neither trained nor prepared for." She reached down, lifting Jeanette's chin to look her in the eyes.

"This isn't something you two were ready for, yet you kept level heads until the job was done and done right. That alone is something a lot of professionals find themselves incapable of. You both should be very proud of yourselves."

"But... what if-" Jeanette was cut off as Wicke pressed her finger over her lips.

"Shh. You don't worry about 'What if?' You both went above and beyond to uphold Aether's beliefs and standards. You did _WELL._ Don't let worry spoil it for you." She gave them both her warmest smile.

"Now, go get cleaned up! I'm certain Alakazam is smart enough to write its own report, and I've gotten everything I need from you!" She nodded towards the door. "That's something that the two of you should not have had to see, and it won't be easy to come to grips with for a while. Know that my office door is always open, alright?"

Jeanette nodded, and Ren mumbled a thanks before they quickly slipped out, Audino following close behind them. Finally alone, Wicke sighed and picked up her clipboard.

 _Those poor kids... They're too young for this kind of work..._

"Izzit gonna be okay?" A young voice called out from the doorway. Wicke felt a pang of guilt as she turned to affirm who she already knew had asked.

"Young Master, you know you're not allowed in this area! The president's explicit instructions were-"

"I'm not! Look!" Gladion fully opened the door, revealing himself to be standing just on the other side of the threshold. "See! I'm not IN the area!" The little child looked extremely proud of his way of outsmarting his mother's rules, beaming at her from behind the messy blonde hair that covered half his face.

Wicke considered arguing with him, but he was technically following the letter of the law, if not the spirit.

"I don't know, Master Gladion. Even if it does pull through, the total loss of a limb will mean it will have to go through rehabilitation before it can even be considered for release back into the wild..."

"Re-a-what?"

Wicke shook her head and smiled. The curiosity of a five-year-old was limited only by his vocabulary. There was no doubt in her mind that some day, that curiosity would lead him to be a fantastic pokemon trainer, himself.

Wicke knew that a long series of explanations were about to take place, but she never considered teaching Gladion to be a bother. Stepping through the door, she offered him her free hand. "Come along, young master. I'll explain while we go look for your sister."

"Okay!" Gladion cheered, grabbing hold of her hand as they both walked away from the Emergency Room.

* * *

Riolu woke up.

That was unexpected.

Its whole body hurt, as though all the strength in it had been sapped away. It was laying somewhere soft and, seeing as it wasn't already dead, seemingly safe.

Its eyelids felt like lead, but Riolu slowly managed to crack them open.

Everything was white. White walls, white ceiling, white floor, white beds, white machines beside its bed. It could see multiple wires and tubes leading from the machines and into its body, with a large mask held in place over its muzzle.

Panic began to quickly set in as the reality of its situation began to set in.

"Ri... ri..." It quietly tried to move its arm to reach up, only to find it held into place.

"Hey, you're awake! That's fantastic!" a voice whispered. Slowly, a human came into sight, a comfey floating just over her shoulder. She was dressed in a uniform the same shade of white as the rest of their surroundings. "It's okay, Riolu, you're safe, now."

Riolu certainly didn't feel safe. It was alone, in pain, and hooked up to machines against its will. This human looked like it was trying too hard to be happy, totally forced and untrustworthy.

"You've been through quite the ordeal. In fact, you nearly died." She gently placed her hand on Riolu's forehead. "Your body is still in pretty bad condition from the shock of the blood loss. I'm going to go ahead and put you back under for now, alright? Just for a little while we finish tending to your injuries."

Riolu wanted to object, but it could already smell a new gas entering the mask on its muzzle. Just as the world grew dark, Riolu thought that it spotted movement out of the corner of its eye:

A young human girl with golden hair, hidden from the other human and watching it with worry in its eyes.

The smaller human was being honest, at least. She also cared for their safety, from the looks of things.

While it had no choice in whether or not it stayed, Riolu had to admit that the little human made it feel better.

* * *

Gladion quietly slipped into the Intensive Care Ward. He knew what it was that his mother had said, and that he was risking her wrath being there, but he couldn't help himself. The little riolu that was in there was the talk of the whole VLFS since it arrived, and he just had to see it.

"Gladion, I don't know about this... You know what Mother would say!"

Gladion rolled his eyes as Lillie objected yet again.

"You said you wanted to make sure the pokemon was okay, right?"

Lillie looked down at the floor, then nodded.

"Mmhmm."

"Then this is the only way we can go see it!" He gave Lillie's hand another tug. "Everybody keeps saying 'It's so brave!' and 'It's so strong to have survived!' I wanna see it, too!"

Reaching the final door between their location and their goal, Gladion quietly cracked it open by the tiniest amount he could, peeking through to check for any sign of someone who could tattle on them.

Inside was a collection of beds laid out in a row, along with accompanying life support machines and other necessities. Only one was filled, however, and there was no sign of any doctors in sight. There was only a lone Comfey keeping watch over its patient, floating in the air above the machines and slowly releasing a calming scent into the air. Reassured, Gladion opened the door the rest of the way and slipped inside. Lillie followed close behind him, shutting the door after them.

"Com-comfey-com..." The pokemon whispered, nodding to the sleeping pokemon.

Gladion got the message, turning to Lillie and pressing his finger against his lips. Lillie nodded, clamping her mouth tight.

Slowly, the two of them tiptoed further into the forbidden territory, the only noise the gentle beeping of the heart monitor. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of careful steps, they arrived at the bedside. Comfey was keeping a close eye on them, but hadn't called for any kind of grown-up to take them away, so Gladion gave it a grateful nod before turning to the pokemon in the bed.

The little riolu looked almost as though nothing was wrong, aside from the numerous IVs leading down into its arm and the mask on its muzzle. It did have several cuts and bruises, and Gladion could see numerous bandages across its chest.

Around on the other side of the bed, Lillie gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, obviously holding back a cry of fear. As quickly as he dared, Gladion moved over to meet her, only to be met with the same sight:

The riolu's right arm was completely gone, the empty shoulder covered up with gauze and bandages. Gladion had to admit, the sight was terrifying, his brain still hadn't completely wrapped around it by the time Lille had rushed back out of the room, both hands clamped over her mouth.

Gladion stared back for only a moment more before giving Comfey one last nod and following after her as fast as he could without making any noise.

Outside, Lillie had immediately sat back against the wall and was crying profusely into her hands.

"Th-that... that was ho-ho-horrible!" She eked out the words in between her sobs.

She was right, but Gladion found something morbidly fascinating about it. Somewhere, under all of those machines and all those bandages, was a creature clinging onto life with every shred of strength it had.

Even after he and Lillie sneaked back into their beds, Gladion knew that he wanted that little riolu to live. He felt a connection with it, something deep and instinctive. If that little riolu could survive all of this, then he could definitely survive whatever life throw at him, right?

* * *

Three days. It had been nearly three days since Riolu had finally been let out of its bed, and it was still nowhere closer to freedom. The room it had been "released" into looked like it was outside, with grass and trees and running water, and they could even see the sky through panes of glass in the walls and ceiling, but everywhere they looked, Riolu saw white walls and walkways.

The humans called it the "conservation area." Between the walkways, elevator, and numerous humans constantly walking in and out, if felt as though the only thing being conserved was space.

Riolu stared down at the water of one of the miniature lakes, pondering its reflection. As they always did, its eyes wandered to what it didn't want to see: the place where it was left incomplete. Bandages were still wrapped tightly around its shoulder, but it didn't stop the painful throbbing. Some nights, Riolu could feel its arm back in its proper place, filled with stabbing, shooting pain. Others, it found itself plagued with nightmares of what had happened, the face to the trainer haunting it, mocking it. Between the pain and the nightmares, rest was elusive, and meditation impossible. Without the humans' keeping it asleep with medicine, Riolu hadn't had a good night's sleep in days, and it was starting to become unbearable. The thought of another day in this hell equally so.

It snapped its gaze away from the pond, forcing itself to lay back on the ground and stare upwards.

There lay the sky of Alola and the passing wisps of clouds above them. The skies of Alola were as as beautiful as always. Riolu longed be be able to see them unimpeded by the knowledge of an invisible barrier between them.

The humans had always spoken about its injuries in hushed whispers, but Riolu had been able to understand a few words here and there, enough to tell that it wouldn't be fully healed for a long time. Broken bones healed slowly for steel-type pokemon, even when using moves such as Rest or Recover constantly, and it had broken several more than its first evaluation had led it to think. Ribs had been shattered, joints pulled beyond their range of motion, fractures in nearly every other bone in its body, and something called a "concussion."

If it was going to be stuck here until it was completely healed, it wouldn't be seeing the unfiltered sky for a very long time. It would be weeks, at least, before it was free to run through the fields of Poni lsland once again. Months before it could return home and watch the moon rise from its favorite meditation spot. Perhaps years,even, before it would be able to the rest of its friends! The thought began to rise in its mind that, since its arm was never going to return, it might never even be allowed to leave this place...

Riolu tore itself away from the skylight, rising back up into a sitting position and returning to staring at its reflection.

It couldn't bear to stay here another moment, let alone the rest of its life, in this kind of prison. It was a the cruelest kind of prison: one of kindness. No matter how much it may want to leave, it would never be allowed to, not so long as the keepers considered it 'healthy' for it to stay.

Health without freedom was like life without breathing.

* * *

Gladion loved visiting the conservatory, it was always filled with pokemon feeling safe and happy. Aether was all about giving pokemon a chance to recover from things that would normally be impossible to come back from in the wild, as well as protecting them from the threats humans could pose. Gladion was always proud to tell people he was a part of it.

Playing in the conservatory made Gladion feel just as safe and happy as the pokemon. There were streams and ponds to swim in, open fields to run through, and plenty of happy pokemon to play with. There were days when he could disappear into the conservatory and not be found by his mother's staff until well after the sun had set, climbing trees and swimming through crystal-clear waters to his heart's desire with a new pokemon to befriend every day.

Gladion paused, hearing a splash in the water just below him as he walked along one of the conservatory's many bridges. He leaned as far over the edge as he dared, peering into the water.

There, at the bottom of the pond, lay the one-armed riolu, not moving.

"H-hey! Hang on!" Gladion cried, clambering through the guard rails as quickly as he could. Without a second thought, he dove into the water, his momentum carrying him swiftly to the bottom. He took a firm grip of the riolu's arm, bracing his feet against the bottom of the pond and pushing upwards with all of his might. Together, the two of them floated up to the top of the water. Gladion released his old breath as they breached the surface together, taking the biggest gulp of air he could before Riolu's heavy body dragged him back down to the bottom. Angling himself towards the shore, Gladion repeated the motion, bringing them up for fresh air and almost an entire meter towards the shore. Over and over again, even when his arms felt like they were about to pull out of their sockets and his legs burned with searing pain, Gladion brought the riolu closer and closer. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, they were in water shallow enough for Galdion to stand with his feet at the bottom and his head above. Lifting Riolu onto his shoulders, he sprinted for the shore.

His heart was pounding in his chest as he laid the riolu down on the grassy shore. His mind was racing as he tried to remember what little training the other Aether members had given him when he had started entering the conservatory.

"F-first, we check for breathing!" He leaned down, holding his ear beside the riolu's mouth.

There was nothing.

"I-if it's not breathing, we check for a pulse!" He reached down and took hold of the riolu's wrist. His blood ran cold as ice.

Still nothing.

He pushed the thought out of his mind that he was holding a dead creature. He had to keep trying and remember the training he'd been given.

Moving down, he placed his hands at the base of the pokemon's ribs, just above the stomach. He pressed down, then released, sending a pulse of motion through its body. He repeated the motion over and over, falling into a steady rhythm.

 _Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three..._

At thirty pulses, he leaned his head down again, checking once again for breathing.

"C-come on! Don't give up!" he shouted, starting the chest compressions again. "Just breathe! Come on, BREATHE!"

Finally, a shudder traveled through Riolu's entire body and its head turned to the side, water pouring out of its mouth as it began to violently convulse. Gladion backed away, letting it have its space to breathe.

The riolu continued coughing up water for almost a full minute, completely unaware of the world around it until no more water would come up from its lungs. As its eyes slowly came back into focus, it glanced around before locking eyes on Gladion.

Gladion rushed forward, throwing his arms around it in a tight hug.

"You're okay!"

The riolu flinched at the sudden contact, but otherwise didn't react, simply staring down at the ground. Gladion released his grip on it, holding the pokemon at arm's length.

"Dummy! You can't just try to go swimming so soon after getting out of intensive care! Especially with only one arm!"

The riolu recoiled at his words, and Gladion could see tears in the pokemon's eyes. He felt guilty for being so harsh with it, but the words needed to be said. The riolu's eyes shifted away from the ground and over to the water, again.

 _Does it... want to go back? Why would it want that?_

"F-fine! If you really want to go swimming that badly... Then I'll go swimming with you!" Gladion was already soaking wet, so going back into the water wouldn't matter. "You just can't swim alone, and you need to stick to the shallow parts until you can swim one-armed, okay?"

Riolu looked back at the ground, obviously disappointed.

 _Does it want to swim, or not?_

"Hey, what's the matter?" he finally released his grip on the riolu's shoulders and sat back. "You don't look to happy for someone who came back from being dead a minute ago!"

The riolu looked up, more tears falling from its eyes as it stared up and through the skylight. Gladion followed its gaze, trying to understand the longing in its eyes.

"Do you... want to go outside?"

The riolu's attention snapped back to Gladion, its blood-red eyes scrutinizing him. He obviously had its attention, and he took that as a 'yes.'

"Well... recovering pokemon aren't supposed to leave this place..." he muttered under his breath. The riolu's gaze began to fall again as its spirits sunk.

"Unless they're accompanied by a trainer!" Gladion grinned as the riolu looked at him, eyes full of excitement.

"I think I can help you out, buddy!"

* * *

Gladion had a good guess at what the riolu was thinking when it arrived at the courtyard outside his family's mansion. When it had caught its first breath of fresh air, it was like it had come back to life all over again, sprinting out and into the yard. It had nearly tripped twice before is settled into an oblong gait, limping as quickly as it could until it was out and on the deck of the VLFS.

It had looked pretty crestfallen, however, when it had realized that it was surrounded by water, locked on an island along with everyone else.

Gladion had to admit, he understood the feeling.

Still, Riolu had seemed to settled down and enjoy the sunshine, limping several laps around the courtyard before stopping at the base of the tallest of the trees. It was reaching up with its arm and jumping up and down, trying to reach the lowest of the branches.

"You... want to climb the tree?" Gladion asked, walking up beside it. The riolu looked at him and nodded, making another feeble attempt at reaching the branch.

"Well, Mother says we're not supposed to climb these..." Gladion glanced nervously at the door to the mansion, as if his mother would emerge at her mere mentioning.

The riolu finally stopped, giving him a curious look.

"Well, we have to follow the rules!"

The riolu pondered the statement for a moment before sighing and walking away, stopping at the guard rail on the edge of the VLFS. It stopped to stare out over the ocean, leaving Gladion standing alone under the tree.

 _It's still sad... I guess it misses its home, huh?_

"Hello, Gladion!"

Gladion jumped in fear as he felt a firm hand grip his shoulder. Looking up, he found himself staring into the beaming face of his mother. His heart skipped a beat.

 _I'm not even supposed to be going INTO the conservatory without adult supervision, and I took a pokemon OUT without telling any grown-ups!_

 _I... am in so much..._

"I'm so glad to see you out and enjoying yourself!"

 _trouble?_

Lusamine smiled and tousled his long hair.

"I was just heading to the conservatory! Would you like to come with me? I was told that we recently treated a riolu with the most _beautiful_ golden fur!" She chuckled to herself. "From what I hear, it almost looks as though it could be a member of our family!"

Gladion had to try with every fiber of his body to resist the urge to glance over at Riolu at the guard rail and give away its location.

 _Did she... not see it?_

"Th-that's okay, Mother! I think I'm going to spend the day... playing with that new remote-control bastiodon toy! I want to see if I can get it from one end of the facility to the other without stopping!"

Lusamine gave him a curious look, and Gladion couldn't help wondering if she believed him.

"B-but I might ask Miss Wicke to help me catch up to you once I'm done!"

She tilted her head for a moment, as if pondering the suggestion before she tousled his hair once again and walked past him.

"Alright, then! Just be certain not to go in there alone, alright? We may protect the pokemon with our love, but not all of them are comfortable around humans, you could get hurt!"

"Yes, Mother!" he called back as she disappeared into the facility. Once she was out of sight, he sighed with relief and ran over to the riolu.

"We've gotta get you back before Mother makes it to the conservatory!"

Riolu hesitated, taking one last glance back at the ocean. It obviously didn't want to return.

"I'll come and play with you tomorrow, I promise!"

The pokemon's eyes slowly slid back to meet his gaze. The words had been hasty, and the suspicious look in their eyes made Gladion think carefully. Reaching out, he placed his hand on its shoulder and nodded, keeping the eye contact.

"I promise."

Riolu stared for a second longer then sighed, gave him a one-armed shrug, and motioned for him to lead the way.

* * *

"Hey! Rio!"

Riolu, or "Rio" as Gladion had started to call it, cracked open an eye as its meditation session was interrupted. It had been nearly three months since they'd first met, and Gladion had failed to miss visiting on a single day. Their friendship was the one thing that had made life worth living when they had been at their absolute worst, and the way of bringing peace to other aspects at their absolute best.

Rio could spot a clipboard clutched in Gladion's hands as he sprinted down the conservatory walkway.

"Your test results are back!"

Rio rose from their sitting position as quickly as their aching joints would let them. Managing pain and acknowledging their physical limits had become a part of life for Rio, as natural as breathing. It was a frame of mind that had been... difficult to learn, to say the least, and had resulted in a complete overhaul of its way of thinking. There were many times Rio wondered if the fire of battle had disappeared from its soul, entirely. Many riolu and lucario on the outside would have called it a fate worse than death to lose one's fighting spirit, but as the little human clambered through the railing of the walkway, the contentment of simply having such a friendship was enough to enrich Rio's life.

"I didn't peek, I wanted us to read them together! So I got an extra copy of the report the doctors are giving my mother!"

It wasn't surprising that the doctors had done something like that. The friendship the two of them had was the worst-kept secret in the entire facility, known to everyone except Gladion's mother, herself. Even Professor Mohn had come by a handful of times, usually to ask Rio about Gladion's well-being.

 _You two are good for each other. You need to stay active for your physical therapy, and Gladion needs to learn to curb his enthusiasm a little! The two of you compromising for each other is the perfect partnership!_

"Well? Are you ready?"

If Rio was about to receive the news they were hoping for, they knew that they'd probably want to find someplace they could wait for Gladion to be old enough for his pokemon journey.

With a nod of approval, Gladion tore off the page covering the results of the doctors' testing.

"It is with a heavy heart that we must report... The subject is... not prepared for re-introduction to the wild..." Gladion's smile fell instantly, and Rio let out a resigned sigh. It had been expecting this, only barely scraping by on the most basic of physical examinations.

"The heavy scarring over its chest leaves it unable to grow fur in many places, which would leave it unable to maintain hom... homey... homey-o-stasis... in winter. The numerous fractures across its skeletal structure, while mostly healed, have resulted in a body unfit for evolution due to the natural welding of the bones using up most of the material that would normally boost growth... and the loss of the right arm has left its fighting potential a mere fraction of the power it should have..." Tears were beginning to fall from Gladion's eyes. "Permanent damage to the skull and brain have resulted in chronic seizures, and the pokemon in question has been observed struggling with phantom pains from the lost limb."

"All of these factors, combined with the fact that it can use no special moves beyond the most basic of Tackle, leaves us with no other choice but..." Gladion trailed off, his voice catching in his throat. Wiping away the tears, he tossed the clipboard away into the water, scaring off a small school of wishiwashi.

"Aw, forget it! What do those nerds know, anyway? They're a bunch of big, dumb dummies!"

The attempt to hide the truth was noble, but Rio knew already. Deep down, it had always known.

It was never leaving the Aether Paradise. It would be lucky if it was allowed to be a lab assistant.

"Come on! Let's go running! We'll show them what you're REALLY made of!" Gladion grabbed Rio's paw and gave it a hard tug. "You're going to get better, I just know it!"

Rio stared to rise up onto their feet, only to cry out as pain began to course through them. Instinctively, it reached over with its paw, grabbing at the source of the pain.

Their arm wasn't there, of course. That hadn't changed since day one. But somehow, the ghost of the limb still plagued them.

Gladion stood and stared, having let go the moment Rio cried out.

"Is that the 'phantom pains' they were talking about?"

Rio could only grit its teeth and nod, raising its paw up to its head and trying to calm the pounding headache that was beginning to set in.

"Wait... What if we could trick them? What if we tell them that you don't have any phantom pains?" Gladion knelt down, matching Rio's eye level.

"It could be our secret handshake!" He jumped back up onto his feet, grinning with pride at the idea.

"First, you grab your wrist..." He made the motion, mimicking Rio's grab at its nonexistent limb. "Then you touch your head!" Slowly, the grabbed hand made its way up to the boy's forehead. "And you make it look REALLY tense, because that's what makes it look super cool!" His face twisted into a grimace of pain to match Rio's own.

Rio couldn't tell whether they ought to be offended at their pain being made into a "handshake" or laugh at how hard it looked like Gladion was trying to make it look cool. Not to mention the fact that the boy had changed hands halfway through. The hand he was bringing to his head was the one that didn't exist for Rio, any more.

"Now, next time, I can just tell the doctors that you're just practicing our handshake! No phantom pains at all!" He knelt back down and gave Rio's shoulder the most reassuring squeeze a child his age could muster.

"You'll be out of here in no time, buddy. Promise!"

* * *

It was a year after that before the first time Gladion failed to visit. Rio waited all day, watched the sun set through the conservatory windows, and then waited as the moon rose.

Rio didn't sleep that night, half out of pain and half out of worry.

It was almost a week before Rio saw Gladion again, and when they did, the boy's head was hung low. Rio limped over to him as quickly as they could, inspecting him for any signs of injury.

"Sorry... something bad happened..."

It was all the mention Gladion gave to the matter as they walked across the conservatory to Rio's meditation spot. There, the two of them sat down together. Rio didn't make a sound, simply sitting and staring at the ground, right at the midpoint between them. They waited for Gladion to start the conversation.

"My father is... he's gone."

Rio felt a pang of sadness. Professor Mohn was kind, kinder than most, and cared deeply for his family. The loss of such a man was a loss for the entire Aether Foundation, not to even mention the impact it was likely having on his family. Rio did the only thing they could, something they had learned from their precious friend.

They reached out and gave Gladion a squeeze on the shoulder. When he looked up, Rio gave him a gentle smile, the same smile Gladion had always worn to assure them that they'd return home from Aether someday.

Gladion held the eye contact for a moment before jumping forward and wrapping his arms around Rio in an almost literal bone-crushing embrace. As Gladion clung tightly to them, Rio pretended not to notice the wetness on their shoulder or the stuttering sobs in his voice.

"The- the wormhole just o-opened, and there- there was a flash of light, and he was GO- O- O- OONE!"

After so long of Gladion giving them some sense of stability and purpose, it was Rio's turn to be the source of strength, even if they had little to give.

Gladion stayed until well after the moon had started to rise, never letting go of Rio until the tears had stopped. After that, he had stayed in the conservatory, sharing stories of his father and the good he had been and done. It was the most fitting way Rio could think of to honor those who were gone: to sit and remember them, bit by bit, for as long as it took until you had constructed the perfect memory, one that would never leave you.

When the morning sun rose, Gladion was still with Rio, now having fallen asleep from the sheer exhaustion of all the crying. Rio didn't bemoan the compulsion to stand watch over him, telling themselves that they probably wouldn't have been able to sleep, anyway.

From then on, overnight visits became more frequent. Gladion often claimed to be "too tired" from the day's adventures and play to make the trip back to the mansion. No one stopped him, and only his sister ever came looking for him. When their eyes would meet, Rio could see that they both shared the same love for the boy: the love of family. Neither of them would speak, only acknowledge each other with a knowing nod before she moved on.

Rio wondered if they would ever have the chance to see Lillie and have a similar friendship. It was a funny thought, all of the blonde-haired creatures in this place forming a family, whether by blood or by love.

But it was also one that eased Rio to sleep on many a night, to dreams not of the mainland, but of a massive mansion to call home, one only an elevator trip and a few doorways away.

* * *

Two years.

Gladion was almost nine, now. Rio knew because it would be his birthday in another two months and six days.

It was two years later that Gladion missed another visit. This time, he was gone for three days with no sign of returning. That wasn't to say that Rio didn't hear his name, though. The foundation employees were whispering it in hushed tones and skeptical glances, along with two more words, over and over.

"Type: Null."

The first one to come to them had been Branch Chief Faba. He'd tried to pressure Gladion's location out of Rio, who simply gave their now-signature one-armed shrug.

"The alakazam that SAVED YOUR LIFE was trained by ME! You owe me your life! Now, you will tell me WHERE the boy is!"

Another shrug.

Next, Miss Wicke had come to them, pleading for help. Pleading and claiming to be doing everything within her power to help Gladion.

Everything, that was, except for stop wearing the Aether Uniform.

Finally, Lusamine had come to them.

Rio had seen Lusamine many times since coming to the Aether Foundation, and liked her less every time. The woman threw around the words "beautiful" and "love" without knowing what they meant, as if using them made her some kind of saint. Every now and then, she would tour through the conservatory, a chance to pat herself on the back for the work of others in saving the pokemon there. Many of the other pokemon who stayed in the conservatory for long periods of time had come to revere her, thinking of her as some kind of healer when the pokemon who kissed up to her the most would miraculously be released early.

But every time they saw her, Rio could see her aura becoming more and more tainted. The rest of the world considered her a paragon, but Rio could see the rot in her soul. Something about the woman was very wrong.

Even Gladion had spoken at great lengths about how distant and occasionally cruel she had become since Mohn had passed away. There were times that Rio had considered marching out and giving her a piece of their mind, but then another migraine would bring them back to reality. If was doubtful they could even give little Lillie a hard time, let alone the woman with the entire facility at her back and call.

Lusamine hadn't pressured Rio for answers, hadn't even spoken a single word to them. She simply stood above on the walkway, looked down her nose, and stated that they'd be no help.

The callous disregard was the nicest thing she'd ever done for them, considering it got the rest of the staff to stop pestering them during their meditation.

When Gladion came, as Rio knew he would, it was in the middle of the night, when the lights were all blacked out in favor of natural moonlight. He was dressed in a tattered black hoodie and black jeans, both allowing him to blend into the dark and marking his opposition to the foundation.

"I'm sorry, Rio... But I couldn't let them keep doing this!" He held a white pokeball out for Rio to see. "They were experimenting on it, torturing it! And then, when they were done, they were going to just freeze it until the end of time!"

Rio looked down at the pokeball, then up at Gladion again.

"I have to leave. If they catch me, they're just going to do it all again!"

Rio pondered the situation, then nodded. Gladion was just being himself, never letting someone suffer alone, human or pokemon.

"So, this is going to be my last visit... The boat I arranged for from the mainland is going to be here in three minutes." He turned back towards the elevator at the center of the room, then paused. Rushing forward, he grabbed hold of Rio's shoulders. Only now did it occur to Rio just how much he'd grown, standing head and shoulders over them.

"Come with me! Rio, this is perfect! My escape plan is your ticket out of this place! We can go together! Come on, let's-"

"Gladion! Stop right there!"

Gladion froze as Lusamine's voice echoed through the empty room. She stood at the far side of the conservatory, silhouetted in moonlight. Rio could feel disgust and hatred rolling off of her in waves. Even at this distance, her aura made them want to gag.

"I'm not stopping, Mother!" Gladion called, turning to face her and keeping a tight grip on Rio's paw. "This is WRONG, and we both know it!"

"Is it so wrong to follow my dream?" She retorted, beginning to advance towards the center of the conservatory. "All I want, all I've EVER wanted is my precious beast! And that creature is a failure at a way of getting it! It is an ugly, violent thing, and just being near it is making you ugly, as well!"

"And what about _family?_ " Gladion retorted, jumping up and onto the walkway. "Did you ever want that? Or were Lillie and I just means to an end, too?"

As fascinating as the conversation was, the timer was already going in Rio's head. Gladion had said that the boat to the mainland would arrive in three minutes, and they had wasted nearly forty seconds of it. The elevator took nearly a minute to make it to the docks, which meant Gladion had to leave in the next minute and twenty seconds, and the pokeball in Lusamine's hand looked as though she intended on making certain he didn't.

Silently, Rio slipped into the water of the artificial stream that ran throughout the conservatory, letting the current take it as it simply treaded water the way the physical therapists had taught it so long ago. The icy cold water made the aching in its joints fade as it drifted closer and closer to the woman.

"I won't let you leave, Gladion! Now, listen to your mother and _come home!_ You've had Lillie scared sick these past few days!" Lusamine was walking closer and closer to the elevator controls, obviously intending to block him off.

"HOME?" Gladion stared at her incredulously as he subtly picked up his pace towards the center of the room. "That place hasn't been home since Father died! You let our family down, Mother! When we all needed to band together, you became distant! Obsessed with those STUPID ultra beasts while Lillie and I were growing up and suffering all on our own!"

Rio reached up, catching the edge of one of the bridges and holding itself in place. The bridge was one Lusamine and her pokemon would have to cross to reach Gladion in the remaining forty seconds.

"DON'T TALK ABOUT THEM LIKE THAT!" Lusamine shrieked, reeling back her arm. "If you won't come home, then I'll BRING you home!"

In the same moment Lusamine threw the pokeball, Rio pulled itself up on the bridge with all of its might.

The battle that had left Rio a cripple had stolen their arm, their pride, their future and even their will to live, but it had left them with a few things worth having.

And that included one good arm.

The force carried Rio up and into the air, into the path of Lusamine's pokeball. The orb collided with its chest, opening in a flash of blinding light.

Rio landed on their feet, dropping to one knee as the impact rattled its bones. In front of them, the light finally faded, revealing the towering form of a bewear lording above them.

"RIO!"

Turning back, Rio saw that Gladion had taken advantage of the distraction to sprint the rest of the way to the elevator.

"Come on! We're getting out of here, just like I promised!"

Rio glanced back at Lusamine, who was shaking off the shock of their sudden appearance, then at Bewear, ready to quickly and efficiently carry out her bidding.

Slowly, painfully, Rio rose to their full height, planting their feet in place.

"You think you can stop me, little one?" Lusamine hissed. "One little riolu?" Finally, her tone matched what Rio had seen in her for years: ugly and full of hatred. Her words sparked something in Rio, something long thought to be dead.

Rio was ready to punch her in the face. Not just for Gladion's sake, not just for their own, but for the suffering she had caused them both over the years. Rio was ready to act as the one tool for both of their wills.

In that moment, Rio's body began to glow as a heat rose up from within, spreading through every inch of their body all at once, filling them until they felt as if they were about to explode. The world moved down as their perspective moved up, and they could see the rounded metal on the back of their paw force itself outwards into a powerful spike. The tassels on its head split and grew longer, and after a matter of seconds, Rio was no longer a helpless little Riolu.

In their place stood a powerful Lucario.

A shudder ran through Rio's body, giving it pain in new places and old. Though they had power now, it was easy to tell that this body was more fragile. Everything it had had been stretched thin to make it happen, ready to snap like a rubber band under the first sign of pressure.

"Come on! You can make it, you're strong enough!" Gladion urged, his finger on the button to descend.

Their time was up. The boat had arrived, and likely wouldn't stay long. Turning back, Rio gripped at the place where its arm should have been, then raised their paw to their head, screwing their eyes shut in focus. They had only one message for Gladion, they words they'd always wished they could speak, and only now were they strong enough to speak them straight to the boy's aura.

 _Go. Be stronger than me._

Gladion's sharp intake of breath was all the confirmation Rio needed that the message had gotten through.

All the years of meditation had come to this moment. Rio poured every ounce, every scrap of aura it had into its single paw. Light began to flicker in the room, building into a shining blue orb in the center of its palm.

When the sound of the elevator leaving met their ears, Rio and Lusamine both reacted.

"STOP HIM!" Lusamine cried.

"GRAAAAAAAH!" Rio roared, throwing itself at the bewear.

The aura sphere detonated the moment that it made contact, throwing both pokemon back. Rio was blasted across the room before colliding with the window at the other side of the conservatory, smashing through and landing at the edge of the VLFS.

If it hadn't been in searing, agonizing pain, Rio would have laughed at the parallel. The battle than had left them in Aether's care had ended in a similar catapulting of their body.

They simply laid there, forcing themselves to keep breathing as the ocean rolled by underneath them. Time meant nothing in this much pain, but if there was one thing they had learned from their years of physical therapy, it was that pain couldn't kill them.

 _"Come on, Rio! Let's go running!"_

 _"That's what makes it look super cool!"_

 _"You're going to get better, I just know it!"_

They didn't regret their choice. It had been the first choice they'd made for themselves since Gladion had pulled them out of the lake. Even as the sun rose over the horizon, they didn't regret anything that had led them here. They had fought for the only family that mattered to them.

No, what they regretted was not using their one sentence to ask Gladion for his hoodie, half-hanging off the edge of an artificial island with glass causing heavy blood loss was REALLY cold.

"You're still alive?" Lusamine asked, her voice coated with false sweetness. "I have to admit, your loyalty, while misguided, is certainly a pretty thing..."

If Rio hadn't already been on the brink of hypothermia, their blood would have run even colder as Lusamine ran her fingers through their fur.

"And so beautiful. Since the day you arrived, everyone spoke of your amazing tendency to cling to life. That kind of strength doesn't go unnoticed, and I can see that you still have it..."

At this point, Rio wondered if they could summon up enough strength to finish throwing themselves into the ocean.

"Yes, I think I want you for my... _private collection."_

* * *

Gladion hadn't had it easy since leaving Aether, but he'd made it through everything with the help of Silvally. Together with the help of Lillie and her new friends, they had even foiled his mother's plan to open ultra wormholes all across Alola.

It had been shocking, to say the least, to discover the outside source of his mother's madness, but it was reassuring to know that Lillie was taking her to get the help she needed in Kanto.

This, of course, had left the Aether Foundation under his care. Reclaiming the mission statement that the foundation had set out with would not be easy, and likely require massive changes to the infrastructure, but he was getting the most important matters out of the way, first: the care of the pokemon inside.

He had already freed the other instances of Type: Null and given one of them to the talented trainer that had saved their mother, he would find a home for the third later. Now he was tending to the matter of Lusamine's secret vault and the pokemon she'd had cryogenically preserved there. Reversing the process was not easy, but he would personally make certain every one of them was brought safely back to the land of the living.

"Um, Mister President, sir?"

"Yes, Janette?" Gladion didn't look up from the clipboard he was studying. His mother had been nothing if not well-organized. She'd kept records of every pokemon in her bunker. He felt a small nudge on his shoulder from Silvally, which he absentmindedly responded to with a gentle rub under its chin.

"You... you might want to see this..." The faltering tone in her voice caused Gladion to look up from his catalog.

The clipboard clattered to the ground as he found himself staring at the broken and battered body of their oldest friend, recognizable even behind the ice.

"RIO!" Gladion rushed forward, Silvally close behind. He pressed his hands against the ice, his heart ready to leap out of his chest at the sight. "This- this is fantastic! I searched the foundation from top to bottom and didn't see any sign of them! No wonder, they were here all along! I-"

"Sir..." Janette whispered, pointing to the device at the top of the ice block. It was the save device on every frozen pokemon, a record of their status and the key to safely thawing them out.

"What?"

"L-life signs... They're negative."

Once again, just as it always seemed to, all of Gladion's hope and joy came crashing down around him.

"They... were dead before they were even froz-" Jeanette was cut off as Gladion pointed to the teleport pad.

"Out."

"E-excuse me, sir?"

"Get. Out."

"S-sir! I'm sorry! There's nothing we can-"

"EVERYBODY OUT!" Gladion screamed at the top of his lungs, rattling every piece of glass in the room.

One by one, the Aether employees silently shuffled out, each vanishing until the only ones left were Gladion and Silvally. Finally alone, Gladion sunk to his knees, kneeling in front of the corpse. Emotion bubbled up inside of him, churning and boiling until it finally exploded in a gut-wrenching scream. Silvally whimpered and walked up to the ice, bowing its head and giving the surface of the ice a quick nuzzle.

Gladion couldn't afford to cry. Not this time. He was the president of the Aether Foundation, now, he had to maintain an image and crying would leave his eyes bloodshot. He took one deep breath after another, trying to bring himself to terms with the truth.

"Hey, kid! I heard you rattlin' the windows, figured I'd come down here and see who's gettin' the beat down!"

It was Guzma. Of all the people to arrive, it had to be "big, bad Guzma" that showed up when he was trying to grieve in peace.

"If you don't leave, Guzma, it's going to be you getting beat down..." he whispered, trying harder than ever not to explode.

"Ha! Now there's something I'd like to- hey, kid, are you cryin'?"

Gladion was. He hadn't been able to stop it, he was crying rivers, now.

Guzma walked up beside Gladion and sat cross-legged beside him.

"I've seen you abandon your entire family, I watched you run outta your parents' money, I even saw you lose battles, your dignity, and your mom! But I ain't never seen you cry, kid..." Guzma was speaking more softly, now. This was a side to Guzma he'd only heard about from Plumeria and the grunts, the Guzma who made sure nobody in Po Town ever went hungry or without a bed to sleep in.

"So, what's with the water works?"

Gladion took a deep, shuddering breath, then looked back up at Rio's frozen face. Their eyes were closed, and it didn't take much imagination for him to think that they might just be meditating, waiting for him to tell them about everything he'd been up to while he wasn't visiting.

"Did- Did I ever tell you about why I didn't know Lucario were blue?"

"No, I just thought you were some sheltered brat who'd never seen one, or somethin'."

Gladion smiled. Guzma would never stop being Guzma, even after Team Skull was disbanded.

"No... That's because I grew up with one that was one of a kind..."

Silvally laid down in front of the ice block, settling in for what it could already tell was a long story.

"Oh, and they were shiny too, I guess..."


End file.
